


Causing Trouble

by Shane_for_Wax



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-04 07:20:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6647881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shane_for_Wax/pseuds/Shane_for_Wax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another AU what-if scenario where Commander Shane Shepard and Kai Leng are roommates during their N-school training.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Causing Trouble

Well, her day _had_  been going fine up until the point where her platoon commander decided she was breaking the rules of the sparring session that were a semi-constant occurrence. With a grunt, she flung her helmet as hard as she could at the opposite wall as she entered her room. It made a resounding crack as the ceramic broke against the concrete of the wall. 

"Temper," a voice chided off to her left and she spun, eyes blazing with anger at not only her current situation but the single almost taunting word expelled from a mouth whose owner was only slightly younger than herself. _But still younger_. And that mattered a lot. 

"Go fuck yourself, Leng," she near-snarled. She removed bloodied gauntlets, flinging them on her desk on the opposite side of the room where Leng sat, apparently paying closer attention to his knife than to his 'superior'. 

"As much as I'm sure it would amuse you to see me try, getting pissy at me isn't going to do anything. I _told_  you that the weighted gloves wouldn't be easily hidden. You persisted." 

Gritting her teeth, the lieutenant made her way to her bunk, dropping down on it while working rather hard on controlling her blood pressure as well as the biotics that sparked every once in a while around her. She worked on the techniques that Anderson had taught her previous to her time in the Alliance. 

"So I guess you'll tell me you have some other bright idea that's better than mine?" she finally ground out, ignoring the whisper of stone against metal. Normally discussions weren't quite as heated. They worked well together, if not for the anger problems the biotic obviously had. She had been working on them, however. 

"I seem to recall a certain biotic's right hook that glowed bluer than an asari before contact. Though, I don't see why you hold back and instead try to cheat. Your skill is far above any other in this school. Present company excluded, obviously."

Shane didn't try to explain that she wanted to see what she could get away with, as Anderson was the overall commanding officer of the N-school. She _wanted_  to see what was pure her and what was Anderson. Not that it mattered, really. If it was Anderson what was she going to do? Report him for nepotism? Her latest attempt had only resulted in a simple demerit she would earn back easily anyways and a dismissal from the rest of the day's activities. 

"If it bugs you that much, just ask for a two-on-two fight."

"Pfft. For what reason?"

"See which of us gets dinged more for fouls."

Shane shook her head, rubbing at a shoulder.

"That wouldn't work. You're too close to me. You'd get the blind eye by association." 

"Then I guess we'll just have to do something extra unforgivable."

Shane eyed the man a moment, noting the slight smirk that had appeared on the younger's face, along with the fact he had stopped sharpening his knife and put it away in its sheath on his leg. 

\------------------------- 

"Are you sure you got this?" Shane asked, peering around the corner as she heard Leng shift his weight, shooting a glare at her for a moment before turning back to his work. 

"Unlike you, my skills lie in subterfuge and everything related to that," Leng muttered, typing another command into his omni-tool. 

The biotic rolled her eyes, looking around the corner again to make sure the guards weren't coming back around. If everything went as planned, they would be gone long before the guards showed back up. Leng's attempt to hack into the lock of the door, however, was going slower than either had anticipated. 

But they refused to give in. The armor inside was meant for the upper classmen about to graduate from the school. It was new, it was shiny, and it was secret. Or, it should have been. Very few secrets stayed secret with the upper classmen of the school. Leng and Shepard were meant to graduate in the _next_  year and thus would not be able to legally wear the armor until then. They planned to rush that, however.

After another three minutes, she heard the doors whoosh open. Leng's omni-tool faded as he got to his feet. 

"Told you," Leng remarked over his shoulder as he made his way inside with Shepard on his heels.

"Yeah yeah, the great and powerful Leng does it again," Shane said, a sardonic tone to her voice and look to her face. She flicked the light on in the armory. The armor and weapons were bathed in light, causing a glint to form in Shane's eyes. 

She rushed forward, grabbing one of the cases of armor. Leng followed suit, grabbing one marked for the Infiltrator class. They looked over the cases before turning off the light then leaving the armory altogether. Leng locked the door and wiped any history or trace of the door opening in the past hour. 

Their goal achieved, they snuck away from the area to study their prize and see about using it. 

\-------------------------

"This HUD is definitely more advanced than I'm used to," Shane said, voice projected through the helmet via the external speakers and inner microphone. 

"Easily used via eye movements and more subtle hand movements through the omni-tool," Leng observed, turning his head this way and that. He wouldn't fight with a helmet if he could help it, but sometimes you wore one and had to be up to date with the technology held within said helmet. 

With a movement, Shane changed to the in-helmet comm system. "Can you hear me over there?" 

"Unfortunately," Leng responded before grabbing his knife and doing a few test thrusts and strokes of it. Arm hand was bare save for thin gloves that wouldn't hinder movement. 

Shane took her rifle and spun it easily before moving as if to aim off to the side, away from where Leng stood. The rifle was simply used for formation, thus was little more than a toy. But she still would practice handling and trigger discipline, as Anderson taught.

"Its response to aiming... gives off stats on how far the target is. Seems it can also connect to a scope for even better results," Shane remarked, impressed. 

The helmet itself had the ability to see behind the user, which allowed her to duck as Leng aimed a fist at the back of her head. She turned, sending the butt of the rifle to Leng's chest.

"Thought so. You've got eyes on the back of your head, Shepard," Leng remarked when he got his breath back. "And the armor cushioned that blow rather well."

A grin formed on Shane's face. She aimed a blow to Leng's head herself, which he blocked with one arm. 

"I'm kinda jealous now. Won't be wearing this stuff for a while," Shane said, taking a few steps away from her friend. 

"If you two manage to even graduate," a voice broke in, causing both of them to spin, Shane's gun aimed on instinct with Leng's knife hand up and ready. 

When Shane got a good look she quickly lowered her weapon and snapped a salute. Leng stayed frozen a second longer before lowering his knife arm and offering a salute of his own, his face carefully blank. 

"Captain Anderson I--" Shane began. 

"Don't say another word, Lieutenant. You and Leng report to my office. Bring everything with you."

Sneaking a glance at Leng, Shane picked up the case that had housed the armor. Leng quietly followed suit, though there was now a smirk on his face. 

\-------------------------  


"Don't think I don't know what you've been trying to do, Shepard. Testing your limits is always a good idea. And I'm not even surprised you'd turn to stealing as it's familiar. You've gone too far this time. Especially getting Leng involved, though I'm not surprised that he is," Anderson said, frowning at them both now that they were out of the armor. 

Shane shrugged, though not exactly subdued. 

"You are two of the best students I've ever had. You'll do well once you graduate, _if_  you graduate at all. I can't cover for you this time. That armor is supposed to be a secret."

"Not a very good one," the pair said in chorus. 

"Nor would I expect it to escape your notice. You're not spies, but you do well at noticing details. That's the whole reason you're here. Yet everyone else follows orders to the letter."

"Sometimes following orders to the letter will cause failure, Captain. You should know that better than anyone," Shane pointed out. Her words carried meaning that not even Leng would be able to know. Only Anderson knew that she had been ordered to stay away from him, back on Earth. Only Anderson knew the biotic had been a gang watch dog who had fought another gang without orders simply because Anderson had been in trouble and nearly killed. 

"As true as that may be, this time however following orders means you actually graduate. Which you actually should do so from this point on. Having neither of you graduate would be a blow to the Alliance," Anderson said, linking his fingers together. 

"Which comes to punishment. For the next two months your free passes have been revoked. You will not leave the base under any circumstances barring medical emergencies or war. Making you clean the bathrooms has also crossed my mind but instead since you like armor so much you'll be cleaning all of the pieces of armor used during training for two months. Should take up the time you could have used during the free weekends you used to have."

"But... that just leaves one month until our next session of training. Then we graduate three months later..." 

"Precisely the point. Dismissed."

"But sir--" Shane continued to argue.

"Dismissed, Lieutenants," Anderson said, raising his voice a fraction. 

Shane ground her teeth slightly before offering a crisp, but wooden, salute. Leng tilted his head, as the punishment didn't bother him too much save for having to _clean_. Still, he snapped off a salute before following Shane out. 

"Are you happy _now_  Shepard?" Leng asked once they left the office. 

"Marginally," Shane returned, flashing a smile before laughing loudly as she trotted off back to the barracks. 

"Sometimes I wonder why I bother..." Leng muttered, making his way to the barracks at his usual pace. His friend would probably never master the art of subtlety. Still, what she _was_  good at complimented his own skills. Which he would _never_  forget. 


End file.
